Disaster relief and recovery

Whenever an emergency strikes in Australia or our region, your support means Red Cross will be there.

Help us to support people at home, and overseas, through disaster. We have decades of experience in caring for people affected by emergencies. We’re responding to fires and floods right now, and were there when fires burned through Victoria 10 years ago.

Your donation means Red Cross can:

train staff, aid workers and volunteers to be ready to respond as soon as a disaster strikes in Australia and overseas

teach and support communities in disaster-prone regions to better prepare for disasters

help affected communities to recover from emergencies - in outback towns, metropolitan cities or small Pacific islands - whether you hear about it in the news or not

train and send specialist aid workers to assist local Red Cross volunteers and staff in countries affected by major disasters

maintain stocks of critical disaster response equipment including water filtration, shelter, hygiene and cooking kits for use in emergencies.

How else you can help

Australian Red Cross is not calling for additional volunteers at this time. If we identify a specific need for more volunteers we will make a public call.

Australian Red Cross recruits and trains volunteers for emergency situations just like this one. These volunteers have been mobilised and are currently assisting in the Red Cross response.

If you want to get involved in future Red Cross emergency responses, please visit the 'Become a volunteer' and complete the online registration form.

Can I donate goods?

Red Cross understands people may have a strong desire to donate items. While this generosity is appreciated, our experience with emergency recovery has shown that affected communities recover sooner when they can make their own choices. This includes choosing and purchasing goods to help put their lives back together again rather than being given goods.

Another benefit of allowing those affected to choose their own purchases is that money is being put back into the community to stimulate local businesses, an important part of the local economic recovery.

Red Cross is unable to accept offers of goods such as food and second hand clothes; however, we appreciate and accept donations of clothing through our retail store network to support the broader everyday work of Red Cross. To find out what the needs are across Australia, contact your local Red Cross Shop.